


How It Began

by Salem_V



Series: The Adventures of Michael and Ennard [2]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Abusive William Afton | Dave Miller, Bad Parent William Afton | Dave Miller, Eggs Benedict is Michael Afton, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fake/Good Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, M/M, Michael Afton Needs a Hug, Michael Afton isn't a corpse, Prequel, Sentient Animatronics (Five Nights at Freddy's), but that's minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29210613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salem_V/pseuds/Salem_V
Summary: “Then come home with me,” Michael stated firmly, slightly becoming more insistent.“Home?” The animatronic questioned softly, a sliver of hope in its voice.“Yeah, home. You won’t even have to pay rent!” Michael joked, unsure whether or not the animatronic would understand the joke. “Hey, I was thinking, do you think you could tell me your name?”“Ennard.” The animatronic answered Michael’s question softly.“Well, Ennard, would you please let me see you?” Michael asked with a voice full of hope, desperately hoping that he was getting closer to his goal and that he wouldn’t have to come back to this place again.“...Let me put on my mask.”
Relationships: Eggs Benedict & Ennard (Five Nights at Freddy's), Eggs Benedict/Ennard (Five Nights at Freddy's), Michael Afton & Ennard, Michael Afton/Ennard
Series: The Adventures of Michael and Ennard [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128503
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	How It Began

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! What's this? A ~prequel~ to Comfort. It is. And I've decided to live life without regrets and say, yeah, Michael/Ennard is gonna happen in this series. 
> 
> I should be updating other stuff, but this has been at the back of my mind, and yeah >.> here it is
> 
> Oh, and, I tried to make it as clear as possible, but Circus Baby LEFT. This means Elizabeth IS NOT possessing Ennard.

Michael sighed at the cloudy night sky. The last thing he wanted to deal with was wet roads when driving home from his stupid job, where he was called probably the worst name in the history of names, “Eggs Benedict”. What kind of auto-correct bullshit-

Sliding into his car, he turned the keys and began to make his way to Afton Robotics. This was his last night before he got a glorious day off. Hopefully, nothing too strange would happen.  
~  
Of fucking course Michael always had to jinx himself. Why exactly had he let himself trust an animatronic built by his father? His father couldn’t be trusted. So, why, did Michael think his creations could be?

The animatronic’s rambles were tuned out by Michael, who chose to close his eyes and try to prepare himself for the pain. 

“It only hurts for a moment.” 

Michael choked on a sob, waiting for his insides to be scooped out. 

Only for nothing to happen. 

His eyes snapped open, the power went out. Without wasting a second, he made his exit. Ignoring the frantic calling of the animatronic. Fuck that robot, Michael thought, hurrying out. 

While it was hell to drive home during the storm, he had never felt so grateful for the heavy rain. He doubted the animatronic was waterproof, meaning it would have a hard time following him home. 

~

Any normal, no. Any sane person wouldn’t have returned to that place. Wouldn’t return to where the animatronic that had tried to scoop their insides out and wear them like a suit. 

But Michael Afton wasn’t normal, and he most definitely not sane. 

Michael planted his head on the steering wheel. Why did he think it was a good idea to return to this place? It had finally been shut down. And technically, he wasn’t supposed to be here. 

But, Michael did a lot of stuff he wasn’t supposed to do. Michael took a deep breath, “Fuck it.” And with that, he was climbing out of his car and walking to the entrance. Pulling his coat tighter around him, the night air was unforgivingly cold. 

Michael bit his lip, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat, resisting the urge to bite at his nails. It had been a nasty habit that he had been trying to break. 

“You came back?” An unfamiliar voice called, it was much different than the voice he had heard in the scooping room.

Michael opened his mouth to respond, but no words would come out. His mouth felt dry, and he felt his throat begin to close. 

“I get that you’re mad at me. I am too.” The voice said softly, the last part was added sadly. 

Michael clenched his fists from where they were stuffed in his pockets, “I-I’m not mad.” He forced out. “You wanted to be free, right?” 

“...” Silence was the only answer Michael received. 

But, Michael hadn’t come all the way down here to just walk away. After a long while of contemplating, he wanted to help this animatronic. He couldn’t, and he wouldn’t, just leave it down here to rot. 

“If you want, you can come home with me. You won’t be able to go outside much, and my home isn’t the nicest, but it’s better than being stuck here.” Michael offered, with a slightly hopeful tone. 

“...why?” The voice asked, from wherever it was hiding. 

“Because I’d feel awful leaving you down here. Plus, if I help you out of here, I trust you won’t try and kill me in my sleep.” Michael added the last part jokingly. 

“NO!” The voice’s sudden yell caught Michael off guard, “No,” It added softer this time, “It wouldn’t have worked anyway. You’re too small. You would have ripped.” 

Michael felt himself wince, his height was one of his biggest insecurities. Especially considering how tall his parents were. 

“...I tried to tell them that. But, they didn’t listen, instead yelled at how I let you get away… funny enough, I don’t regret not being quicker.” The voice spoke calmly but had a slight waver in its voice. 

Michael blinked and tilted his head curiously, “Them?” 

The voice was quiet for a moment, “Yes. Circus Baby was the loudest voice. She was the first to go.”

Michael felt like his head was spinning, “Go? Go where? I thought you said you guys couldn’t leave?” 

“... I don’t know where they went. Only that it was my fault that they left. Circus Baby was the only one who truly left. She’s probably already repaired herself… the other’s just went quiet one day.” Perhaps Michael was making the animatronic more humanlike, but he could swear he heard the familiar echo of loneliness.

But, that left Michael with a realization, he had failed. The whole reason he had come down here was to save Elizabeth, then a traitorous voice hissed in the back of his mind: She’s not your sister.

And that was a thought that he would have to unpack later. But, not right now. Right now he had other things to focus on. 

“So, I take it you’re lonely?” Michael waited a moment, before taking the animatronic’s silence as a ‘yes’, “I’m not going back on my offer. If you say no tonight, I’ll just be back tomorrow night. I won’t leave you down here.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?” The animatronic’s voice wavered, if it could cry, Michael guessed it would be. 

Michael pursed his lips, why was he being so kind to the very animatronic that tried to kill him? “I don’t really know… I just know that I won’t leave you alone to rot down here. Besides, it wasn’t your plan, was it?” Michael was pretty sure that was the case. 

“...yes, but I didn’t want to scoop you! I knew it wouldn’t work!” The animatronic said as though Michael wouldn’t believe him, or would leave before he could get it out. 

“Then come home with me,” Michael stated firmly, slightly becoming more insistent. 

“Home?” The animatronic questioned softly, a sliver of hope in it’s voice. 

“Yeah, home. You won’t even have to pay rent!” Michael joked, unsure whether or not the animatronic would understand the joke. “Hey, I was thinking, do you think you could tell me your name?” 

“Ennard.” The animatronic answered Michael’s question softly. 

“Well, Ennard, would you please let me see you?” Michael asked with a voice full of hope, desperately hoping that he was getting closer to his goal and that he wouldn’t have to come back to this place again. 

“...Let me put on my mask.” 

~  
Michael was only slightly shocked at the height difference but was more shocked at the smoothness of the mask. 

“I like your mask.” Michael blurted before he could stop himself. Then once he realized what he had said, “I, uh, what I meant was that you must take excellent care of it! What with how shiny and smooth it is!” 

Ennard only stared at him, before slightly tilting its head, “Do you want to touch it?” 

Michael gaped at the animatronic, before nodding, “Please.” 

Ennard leaned down slightly as an invitation, and Michael slowly lifted his head. Touching the mask, gently rubbing it. Marveling at how smooth it was. 

Since Michael was a kid, he had always had a liking for smooth surfaces. Finding the smoothness soothing, it was often the way he calmed himself down. Just sitting at his desk, body trembling, tears running down his cheeks, gently stroking the smoothest surface of his desk. Pretending that his stomach wasn’t heavily bruised, and his throat wasn’t aching from where hands had been tightly wrapped around. 

But, Ennard’s mask was different than his desk, Ennard’s mask was smoother, it was much nicer than his desk. It had been a couple of moments before Michael realized he was still petting the mask. 

Yelping he retracted his hand, “Ah! Sorry, that must’ve been uncomfortable.” The last thing Michael wanted to do was scare off Ennard before they even got home. 

Ennard just shook his head, “Not at all, it felt quite nice.” 

Michael smiled warmly at the animatronic and outstretched his hand. “Well, we should probably get home. It’s getting quite late, I’d hate to miss tonight’s episode.” The last part was more Michael just thinking outside. 

“Episode?” Ennard questioned, easily keeping up with Michael’s pace. 

Michael hummed and looked up, “Oh, just a soap opera I watch.” Then a large smile broke out across his face, “When we get home we can watch the episode together!” 

Ennard nodded slowly, still walking next to Michael, right up until they were getting ready to exit. 

“Is everything okay?” Michael worriedly looked back to see Ennard hesitating.

The animatronic nodded, but still looked nervous. Michael furrowed his brows and stepped closer. 

“Are you sure?” The quiet question caught Michael off-guard. 

“About taking you home?” Michael smiled sadly, “Of course I am! I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure. I promise.” 

The animatronic was somewhat soothed by his words, and this time followed him into the cold night air. 

Michael shivered, it was much colder outside than he remembered. He slightly picked up the pace to his car, quickly unlocking it, and opening the backseat door. Gesturing for Ennard to climb in. Once Ennard was situated in the backseat, Michael sat in the driver’s seat, smiling when the air began to warm.

The animatronic nodded along to the soft music that was playing, looking out the window, watching the scenery pass. There weren’t many cars out on the road this late. Michael had left pretty late, for whatever reason. 

After a half-hour drive, the two were at his house. The neighboring houses were far enough away that the two had some privacy, with the distance and the darkness. 

Michael sighed and kicked off his shoes by the door, moving into the house further, allowing the animatronic to walk in. 

Ennard immediately started to look around the place, Michael smiled fondly at the animatronic’s curiosity. Ennard’s eyes landed on a basket resting on the counter, “What are these?” 

Michael hummed and glanced over to see what Ennard was referring to, “Oh, that’s exotic butter.” Turning around once more, Michael saw the way Ennard was looking at the basket, “You can have them if you want.”

Ennard looked up at Michael, a little shocked at his offer, “Really?” 

Michael smiled and turned to the TV, going to put on his show, though, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to stay awake the whole time. “Of course!” 

A little while after the intro, Ennard had finally finished exploring his house and decided to sit next to him. Of course, it was after Michael patted the seat next to him with a friendly smile. Halfway through, sadly, Michael was falling asleep. 

When Michael woke up again he was greeted by Ennard staring at him from the floor. Yelping, Michael jumped, startling Ennard a little. After a moment, Michael settled back down, smiling apologetically at Ennard, who still looked a little spooked. 

“Sorry, Ennard, I’m a little confused in the morning.” Michael stretched from where he was still laying down, not quite ready to get up just yet. “What time is it?” 

Ennard let out an, ‘uh’, quickly leaving to go check before returning, “It says 10:45.”

Michael nodded, that was earlier than he had expected. Considering the usual time he wakes up is around noon. 

Michael got up and stretched, once more, finally standing. “Alright! Time to start the day. Preferably with a shower…” He added, quickly lowering his arms. 

It was when he was going to shut the door, that he noticed Ennard had still been following closely. But, was waiting outside the door frame, not entering the bathroom just yet. 

Michael didn’t know if he had the strength to shut the door in the animatronic’s face. He stepped to the side and gestured for him to enter. 

Ennard lifted slightly, Michael hadn’t even noticed it was hunching over until it straightened up.

“So, uh, I have no curtains, just a glass shower door, so if you don’t mind, turning around?” Michael gestured to the shower door just behind him, shuffling his feet. 

Ennard seemed confused at the request but turned around anyway. 

After one last glance, making sure Ennard was facing the other way, Michael turned on the shower and shedding his clothes. Tossing them into a neat little pile.

Throughout his shower, Michael couldn't help but glance at the animatronic, making sure he remained turned around.

He was careful not to have the water too hot, or to stay in too long. He didn't know if the steam would affect the animatronic in any way, and well, better safe than sorry. 

When Michael got out of the shower, he hurriedly dried himself off and threw on his clothes. Not wanting to make Ennard stay turned around for much longer, despite the animatronic showing no signs of annoyance or discomfort. 

After Michael threw on his hoodie, "Alright, you can turn around now."

The second the first word left Michael's mouth Ennard was standing up and turning around. "What were you doing?" The animatronic asked curiously. 

"Huh? Oh, I was showering." At Ennard's confused look, "When humans get dirty, they shower to get themselves clean." 

Ennard hummed and nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. 

The rest of the day went by quietly, Ennard and him occasionally speaking. But for the most part, it was Michael continuing his search for a job, while the TV played in the background. 

It was when the mail had finally come in, that Michael saw the job. Was he really going to do this to himself? 

~

The answer was yes, yes he was going to do this to himself. 

After explaining what bills were, and what would happen if he didn't pay them to Ennard. And how he needed a job, and this was the only one available to Ennard. Michael was finally standing in front of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. 

Ennard had wanted to come along, but the promise of butter was enough to convince him to stay at home. 

Phone Guy was unhelpful, other than telling him what will happen if he gets caught and to check on the animatronics every now and then. 

What Michael thought was bullshit was Foxy, the little bastard tried to run down the hall. Had the door not been closed due to Bonnie harassing him, he would have been fucked. 

It wasn't until he ran out of power, that the fear was finally setting in. Despite the chiming of the alarm, signaling 6 o'clock, he was still a trembling mess. 

In the car he finally broke down, wet sobs leaving him, with tears running down his face. He made a quick stop by a store and grabbed some butter, both salted and unsalted, he didn't know which Ennard would prefer. Then resumed his drive home. 

He ignored the cashier's worried looks but was grateful the tired cashier hadn't asked about his red eyes, still glassy, or the way his hand shook as he swiped his card.

The first thing he did was deposit the butter on the counter, then hurriedly making his way to his room. Eager to get out of his uniform and into something more comfortable. Maybe a quick shower would be best? 

Stepping into the room, he immediately set to work on ripping off his uniform. He was going to dump all of his dirty clothes into his clothes bin. 

“Why are you shaking like that?” 

Michael yelped and dropped the pile of clothes. Whipping around to see Ennard shamelessly staring at him. Taking a deep breath, and ignoring the heat rushing to his cheeks and the tears gathering in his eyes. “Ennard, do you mind turning around?” 

Ennard hesitated, but turned around nonetheless, “Will you tell me why you’re shaking?”  
“It’s nothing, Ennard, it’s just nerves.” Michael attempted to soothe, still trembling. When Michael was heading towards the bathroom, he stopped, “Thank you for turning around.” He thanked softly, but loud enough that the animatronic could hear him. 

“No problem, Eggs!” Ennard chirped, still looking away from Michael, who was furrowing his brows in confusion. Then remembered the hand unit’s awful auto-correcting of his name to Eggs Benedict. 

“I’m going to leave the bathroom door cracked, okay?” Michael called, leaning out of the doorway. Then remembered, “I left your butter on the counter, I didn’t know which you would like best, so I got both salted and unsalted.” 

True to his word, Michael made sure to leave the door open a crack, before hopping into the shower. The trembling had yet to fade, despite the warm water, Michael still couldn’t bring himself to relax. The shower’s tiles weren’t smooth enough to calm him down any, instead, only increasing the longing for something smooth. 

Maybe Ennard would let him pet his mask again? Michael wondered, sighing as he shut off the shower. He knew he wouldn’t ask, for fear of offending or making Ennard uncomfortable. Or worse, angry. 

Michael stepped out of the shower, hurriedly drying off and realizing that Michael forgot his clothes. When he emerged from the bathroom, and into his bedroom, he quickly grabbed a pair of boxers, sweatpants, and an oversized hoodie. 

His hands weren’t shaking as much as they had before, but Michael still felt anxious and overwhelmed. He was tired too, but he knew that even if he went to bed, he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. 

Walking into the living room, he saw Ennard sitting on the couch, flipping through channels. Smiling, Michael made his way over to the couch, plopping down. 

Ennard seemed a little surprised, but made no comment about it. But, he did comment on Michael’s bouncing leg, and fists clenching. 

“You’re not okay,” Ennard stated, looking him up and down. Skipping the question of asking if he was okay. 

Michael frowned, but shook his head. “No, I’m not.” 

“Was it something at your job?” The animatronic questioned, scooting closer to Michael. 

Michael was quiet for a moment, before sighing. “Yeah, the place I work has animatronics too. Unfortunately, they’re not as pleasant as you are.” Michael admitted, initially he wasn’t going to tell Ennard where he worked had any animatronics.

“Did they try to hurt you?” Ennard asked, gently placing his hand on Michael’s shoulder. 

Michael brought his legs up to his chest, despite the seat being reclined. His hands were itching to rub something smooth. Michael pointedly did not look at Ennard’s mask, knowing it would only increase the temptation. “All night long.” 

At Ennard’s curios head tilt, that he saw out of the corner of his eye. 

“Well, I sit in this office, and I can’t leave. It’s against protocol, and I’d probably die faster. So, I only have a limited amount of power that’s supposed to get me through 6 hours. There are two doors, which are located in my blind spots, so I have to check the light.” 

“I’m guessing closing the doors mean cost power?” Ennard hummed, slithering even closer. 

Michael closed his eyes, remembering how stupid it was to panic when he couldn’t find an animatronic and shut the doors until he found them. He definitely wouldn’t be doing that again. 

He didn’t notice his trembling pick back up, too caught up in reliving the last hour of his shift. Constantly checking the power, watching as it went down. 

16

13

10

7

4

1

0.

His heart sinking lower each time. Michael jerked when he felt the hand slide down his back, then back up. 

Was Ennard rubbing his back? 

“What are you doing?” Michael shakily asked, wiping at his eyes. Feeling wetness gathering in them. He had always hated how little it took to make him cry. He really was a hypocrite.

“I saw it on a show, the girl was crying and the guy did this,” Ennard explained not pausing in his motions. 

And, Michael wouldn’t lie, the motion was soothing. Not soothing enough to completely calm him, but he no longer felt like he was going to slip into the memory once more. Ennard’s touches were grounding, and Michael leaned into them with a sigh. 

“Is it helping? You’re still trembling…” The last part was a spoken thought, as Ennard tried to remember other ways to soothe Michael. For the 7 hours, Michael had been gone, Ennard had watched numerous things. Advertisements, movies, some shows. Unfortunately for Ennard, nothing was coming up, other than rubbing the other person’s back. 

Then, Ennard remembered the way Michael’s face had relaxed, and his eyes shut. A peaceful smile on his face, as the tension leaked away from his body. Without anything else coming to mind, Ennard decided to offer. 

“Do you want to touch my mask again?” The animatronic adjusted, so that his head was slightly hovering over Michael’s lap. 

“Is it okay?” Michael asked hesitantly, his hands moving over to rest over the mask. Ennard hummed and nodded, pressing up to gently bump into the mask.

Ennard let out a quiet beep whenever Michael finally rested his hand onto the animatronic’s mask. Softly rubbing to smooth mask, eyes closing after a moment. He felt himself lean back, as he slowly felt himself relax. All while rubbing the smooth mask. 

The two stayed in that position for a while, Michael eventually drifting off, his hand still resting on the mask. Occasionally his grip tightening slightly on the mask, pulling Ennard closer to him. Eventually, Michael had adjusted in the reclined seat, never letting go of Ennard once. 

Ennard had no idea what time it was, but he guessed it was afternoon. The animatronic had let himself be moved, having no objections whatsoever. It felt nice and comforting. To be held. To be wanted.

It was when Michael was turning over, still holding onto Ennard, that Michael noticed something was wrong, and slightly woke up. At least, Ennard thought he had. Cautiously, Ennard moved, allowing Michael to guide him over to where he was wanted. 

Once Michael was on his side, and Ennard was still held closely in his arms, Michael hummed happily. Ennard couldn’t really see the TV anymore, with his face pressed into Michael’s chest. Nonetheless, Ennard beeped happily and enjoyed the warmth Michael provided. 

Ennard had thought, for the longest time, that the feeling of being inside of a human was one of the best feelings. He had believed so for so long, with Circus Baby describing how warm it would be, how comforting it would be. 

But now, Ennard didn’t think any feeling would beat this. The feeling of Michael’s arms tightly wound around him, the gentle beating of his heart, and the slow rise and fall of his chest were just as soothing as the warmth. 

Yeah, nothing would ever beat this feeling, Ennard thought. Circus Baby This was much better than being inside of any human.

**Author's Note:**

> So! What did you guys think? This is how they met, and how Michael got Ennard to come home with him. The next fic in this series will be them slowly getting more comfortable with each other. Er, Michael getting more comfortable with Ennard. UwU I got big plans, although, I have no idea whether or not I should do it in a multi-chaptered way or all in one go?
> 
> If y'all wanna check out my Tumblr [ Click Here](https://salem-v.tumblr.com)


End file.
